


like a wave the ocean just can’t control

by mozarteel



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, ygoshipolympics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 14:53:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4226073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mozarteel/pseuds/mozarteel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuuya is in feelings with his bird-enthusiast of a friend. He’s (probably) the only person in their social circle who’s not aware of this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	like a wave the ocean just can’t control

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ygoshipolympics [Prompt: Coffee + Challenge: Thirst]. Originally posted on [tumblr](http://mozarteel.tumblr.com/post/122558486491/like-a-wave-the-ocean-just-cant-control).
> 
> this is probably the most bl thing ive ever write im sorry im so sorry

The first time Yuuya lays eyes on Kurosaki Shun, they somehow end up crashing face-first into a garbage pile while running late for school.

It’s not even Shun’s fault, he tries to console himself. He somehow overslept despite his alarm clock blaring on his nightstand, and only his mom marching into his room to shove the clock in his face and his panic at the numbers displayed digitally managed to get him up in time.

A moment of flailing and some rushed attempts at showering and dressing up later - _No breakfast I’m late bye Mom!_ \- he’s racing away on foot, hoping that he’ll at least manage to get to school before the bell rings.

His feet stomping on the ground, he pulls air into his lungs, rushing past people and vehicles and buildings; he only hears the shrill ring from a bicycle bell and a loud yell to “Get out of the way!” before seeing a person wearing the same school uniform as his barrel straight towards him on a bicycle.

When asked later, he’ll say his first thought was _I can’t believe someone could look that murderous while pedalling a bike_ ; but for now, the only thing he can only think of is _Oh shi-_ before the person (and the bicycle) crashes into him, the momentum from the impact launching them both straight into some nearby trash cans.

At least the garbage is tied up nicely in black trash bags, and hey, they do provide a relatively soft landing for them both.

 

* * *

 

Yuuya groans, head spinning, thinking _Did Yuugo steal Mom’s keys and try to ride her motorcycle again_ , before a gruff voice asks him, “Are you alright?”

He blinks. turning his head in the direction of the voice.

Blinks again, because _Hello, attractive person_.

Said attractive person is staring straight at him with concern written all over his face. He looks - really handsome, Yuuya’s (possibly concussed) brain supplies - worried, his hands hovering above Yuuya’s chest, as if he wants to check for injuries but is afraid of hurting him more.

“Hi,” Yuuya wheezes, “you have pretty eyes.”

In response, those (pretty) eyes widen in alarm.

“Don’t worry,” Yuuya hurriedly assures him, “I’m not concussed.”

The other boy doesn’t look as convinced as he feels, so Yuuya tries to stand up to show him that he’s okay, but the only thing he manages to do is flail around weakly on top of a bunch of trash bags. Which makes him feel pathetic, so he stops. His companion seems stuck between faint amusement and wanting to stop Yuuya just in case he _is_ suffering from some sort of head injury.

Possibly taking pity on his flailing, the other boy offers a hand to help him up. “Can you stand?” he asks lightly.

Shooting the other student (he is from Yuuya’s school, right?) a grateful look, he takes the offered hand and carefully extracts himself from his bed of garbage, wincing as the movement sends tiny jolts of pain up his neck. At least he’s confident that it’s not broken, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to stand upright like he’s currently doing, so there’s no need for an emergency trip to the hospital for a neck brace.

“See?” he announces, smiling at the other student, “I’m perfectly fine!” The boy simply fixes him with a blank stare.

Then he notices the time, and no more words are spoken as panic returns and he continues his run towards school, waving goodbye at the other boy (who is moving to pick up his bicycle from where it crash-landed); hollering some advice to “You’d better hurry up too!” at him.

Naturally, he ends up arriving at school long after the first bell has rung, but Yuuya’s homeroom teacher takes one look at his dirtied clothes and points him towards his seat without any words, halting his frantic explanation about getting involved in an accident.

He feels Yuzu’s eyes on him, turns her way to send a small smile that promises _I’m fine, I’ll tell you later_.

Her returning smile simply replies _You’d better_.

 

* * *

 

“So you ended up crashing into someone’s bike?” Yuzu asks during lunch, as they sit at their usual table near the corner of the school’s courtyard. He’s only half-listening, too busy devouring his food - he’s never going to skip breakfast again - and reaching out for his drink before he realises that he hasn’t bought one.

Deflating, he answers, eyeing Yuzu’s bottle of unopened orange juice with keen interest, “Actually, _he’s_ the one who crashed into _me_.”

Yuzu seems to notice his staring and drags the bottle closer to herself, watching him wearily.

He pouts, lowering his head into his arms on the table in frustration when it doesn’t seem like she’ll give up her drink in sympathy.

He could stop by a vending machine for a drink on his way back to class, but he is rather thirsty right now, and the closest one is located inside the cafeteria, plus his body still aches a bit from being rammed by a speeding bicycle this morning. He doesn’t think he has the energy to walk all the way to the cafeteria again just for a cold, sweet drink; so he resigns himself to a quick sip at the water fountain near his classroom after recess.

If he had raised his head from his arms on the table, he would’ve been aware of someone approaching them. As he hasn’t, the only warning he gets is Yuzu whispering his name in alarm before a familiar gruff voice says, “Hello again.”

He raises his head so fast he thinks he’ll end up getting that neck brace after all.

The student from before watches him, eyebrows scrunched, face blank. He’s holding two cans of iced coffee in his hands, and offers one to Yuuya. He glances meaningfully at the empty seat beside Yuuya and asks, “May I sit here?”

Yuuya looks at the can of coffee in his hand, looks at the (still handsome!) face of the other student, looks at the empty chair beside him, and replies, “Uh.”

Thankfully, Yuzu takes pity on him.

“Sure, go ahead!” She chirps while kicking Yuuya on the shin under their table, which, _ow_. He tries not to wince. Between this morning’s incident and Yuzu, he’s going to develop so many bruises on his body.

The student gives him a weird look but takes his seat without any other words. Angles his body so that he’s facing Yuuya directly.

“So, uh,” Yuuya begins, shuffles in his seat. “I never did learn your name…?”

The other student is still staring at Yuuya with that almost-blank look on his face. Yuzu, meanwhile, is watching them both like they’re a particularly interesting soap opera.

“I came here to apologize,” he blurts, apparently ignoring Yuuya’s question. “For this morning,” he continues, fiddling with his own can of coffee.

_Well that’s pretty rude_ , Yuuya thinks. eyes scanning the other student’s features, zooming in on his nice eyes and sharp cheekbones; on the long, thin fingers moving along the rim of his coffee can. _He didn’t even answer my question._

But Yuuya finds himself not minding this student’s bluntness, thinks back about how he wasn’t severely injured and didn’t actually get in trouble for his tardiness, and answers, “It’s okay.”

It doesn’t seem like he’s got the boy convinced, so Yuuya rapidly assures him. “No, its fine, I mean,” he raises his arms to show him the bruises he obtained from their earlier incident. “It’s just some scratches, it’ll heal in no time!”

The boy hums at this, checking Yuuya’s arms with that unnervingly sharp gaze of his to ensure that he’s not lying about his injuries. Sees that he isn’t and nods, “Okay then. Also, that’s for you.”

Yuuya glances at the coffee can still in his hands, laughs nervously, and replies, “Thank you.”

The boy shrugs and stands, starts to walk away from them as if this conversation didn’t happen at all. Yuuya considers calling after him to ask more questions - wants to know him better for some reason, but he doesn’t know the other boy’s name, so he stays silent and still in his seat, reluctant, but assures himself that thy’ll probably bump into each other again. After all, they are studying in the same school.

“Kurosaki,” the boy mutters, causing Yuuya to glance up and cast a confused look at his retreating back.

“My name,” the boy turns his head a sideways a little, as if wanting to stare straight into Yuuya’s eyes again, but relents. Looks at Yuuya from the corner of his eyes. “It’s Kurosaki Shun.”

And with that, he leaves, never once turning back.

_Shun_ , Yuuya runs the name through his mind, decides he likes it. _Kurosaki Shun_.

He doesn’t realise he’s smiling until Yuzu asks what he’s so happy about. Mumbles, “Nothing,” and only gets an incredulous look in return.

 

* * *

 

Yuuya doesn’t see any sign of _Kurosaki Shun_ again until two weeks later, while he’s looking for some reference books in the school library.

He’s too focused on looking for the right bookshelf, swallowing the irritation on his tongue about how he’s pretty certain the librarian is screwing with him because he can’t find shelf L-3 and it probably doesn’t exist anyway. Turns another corner, grumbling to himself - and promptly trips on a previously unseen book lying around on the floor.

_Who the hell drops random books on the floor for students to trip on_ , is his last thought before falling down, his hands reaching out to grab onto the bookshelves to slow his inevitable impact with the library floor, and -

It’s a surprisingly gentle landing.

There is the sound of soft, muffled swearing, and he glances down (irritation rapidly fading away, only to be replaced with a growing sense of dread) to see that he has managed to land directly on top of another student who was sitting quietly on the floor. And not just any student -

Kurosaki Shun stares back up at him, still holding a book to his chest, his face set in an annoyed scowl.

_The universe hates me_ , Yuuya declares in his own mind.

After a long beat, in which he tries to will the ground to open up and swallow him whole (because once is an accident but literally crashing into the same person _twice_ is the universe playing a joke on you), the other boy opens his mouth to ask him, “Aren’t you going to get off?”

_Um_.

He seems to realise how that phrasing came out at the same time Yuuya does, because his frown deepens and he quickly adds, “Me.” Squirms a bit, which is _not helping_ , considering their positions and all. “Get off me, you’re heavy.”

Yuuya’s brain finally reconnects with his entire body, and he practically leaps out of Kurosaki Shun’s lap, screaming apologies all the way. Remembers that they’re still in the library from the angry shushes directed at their general vicinity (at least nobody’s coming their way to see what the commotion is about) and tones his voice down to a whisper. “Sorry, sorry, I’m so sorry- “

“Breathe,” Shun tells him, raises himself from his flattened position on the floor to sit back and lean against a bookshelf. “And it’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.”

An awkward silence befalls them.

“What are you reading?” Yuuya asks, curious, lowering himself down to sit cross-legged next to Shun on the floor.

“Book,” comes the curt reply. Yuuya grimaces; either Shun is direct most of the time or he’s not been forgiven yet for their second dramatic encounter with gravity.

He glances furtively around for another conversation starter. Finds none, and peeks at the book Shun is holding in his hands.

The book shows a picture of a bird, resembling a hawk, with red eyes, lightly barred underparts, and dark grey upper parts. The bird is opening its wings mid-flight, and he sees that its underwings are dark and barred.

“The Japanese Sparrowhawk,” Shun announces suddenly, and Yuuya inches back a bit, embarrassed at being caught peeking into someone’s reading choice. “Also known as _Accipiter gularis_ , from the family _Accipitridae_ , and is a bird of prey with the female being larger than the male. They mostly feed on small birds, and sometimes medium-sized birds like magpies. The one you see here is a male bird.”

Yuuya stares.

Shun shifts, looking almost shy. “I like birds,” he adds.

“I can see that,” Yuuya mutters, and Shun squints at him, undecided if the comment was an insult or not. “No, I mean,” Yuuya hurriedly corrects, not wanting to offend him, “That was really informative. I was curious about the book, and I wanted to know more about you - I mean, the book! I wanted to know more about that book you’re reading. So, thanks for telling me.”

Shun blinks, apparently surprised at Yuuya’s admission about wanting to know him better, but his face softens when he sees that Yuuya really appreciates the new knowledge.

“You’re welcome,” Shun replies, hesitating a bit. Yuuya grins, knowing what his next words would be, because he hadn’t had a chance to introduce himself during their previous conversation.

“It’s Yuuya,” he smiles, flashing pearly white teeth, watches as Shun raises one of his eyebrows in amusement. “My name is Sakaki Yuuya.”

 

* * *

 

They continue on like this for a while, talking and joking (well, Yuuya jokes - Shun just keeps wearing that stoic look on his face) and getting to know each other; slowly, hesitantly, with small steps.

Unfortunately, to Yuuya’s great chagrin, Shun doesn’t become any less attractive than he was a few months ago, when he crashed (literally and figuratively) into Yuuya’s life. He’s still an antisocial person who frowns more than he smiles, and Yuuya knows this, because he has never seen Shun smile for as long as they’ve known each other. To be honest, he’s coming _this_ close to declaring ‘make Kurosaki Shun smile at least once in this lifetime’ one of his life goals. He’s got a few ideas on how to attempt this, like maybe telling the worst joke he’s ever heard (and he knows Shun would laugh at his bad jokes, the weird loser) or pushing Shun down and tickling him until he dissolves into helpless laughter; and Yuuya could see himself doing this, could see Shun gasping for air in between breathless laughs, see his tongue flicking out from between twitching lips, and maybe Yuuya could bend down and finally run his tongue over that beautiful mouth and -

Whoa, _hold up_. He doesn’t need this right now, thanks a lot, imagination.

_The universe_ , Yuuya muses once again, as the owner of those lips marches towards him with two cans of iced coffee in one hand and a book (probably something about birds) in another during a recess period, _really, really hates me_.

 

* * *

 

He’s not even going to deny that he finds Kurosaki Shun aesthetically pleasing, knows this from their first meeting.

It would be nice if his brain could stop reminding him about this fact _all the time_ though.

Because from the moment he first imagines himself kissing the other boy, he keeps seeing flashes of possibilities, like when his hand accidentally brushes against Shun’s when they both reach out for the same pencil while doing homework together, and he imagines pulling the other boy towards him to give him a soft peck on the lips. Sees him bending over to pick up a fallen paperclip and wonders how it would feel like to run his hands against that backside. Catches a glimpse of prominent collarbones when Shun loosens his uniform’s tie during a hot summer day, and imagines _licking_ -

There’s even that one time where he imagines Shun being stuck in a prison and getting electrocuted (and his mind went _That’s hot_ ), and _wow_. He feels tempted to shower in holy water right after _that_ particular mental image.

He groans loudly, slamming his head against their usual lunch table, making Yuzu jump a little in her seat, because of course this is his life.

“What’s gotten into you?” she questions, because even though they bicker almost all the time she’s still his best friend and has his best interests at heart.

He sighs. Mutters, “It’s nothing,” in the most defeated tone possible.

Yuzu watches him critically. “You’re thirsty,” she declares, triumphant, as he pokes around sadly into his lunch.

“What has being thirsty got anything to do with- ” he protests, but she cuts him off with a wave of her hand and a sharp smile.

“You’re _thirsty_ for Kurosaki Shun,” she elaborates, and pins him in his seat with a _look_. Yuuya gulps, feels something like fear seeping into his heart. “And I’m going to help you.”

 

* * *

 

He doesn’t know what Yuzu is planning, but he is aware that she’s planning _something_. Yuzu is a terrifying force of nature whenever she puts her mind to a task, and is just _terrifying_ in general. He sees her cornering Yuuto one day after school, and would be severely concerned about this (why does she feel the need to grab his sibling in a chokehold and drag him away into an empty classroom while wearing an evil grin on her face, Yuzu, _no_ ) if he wasn’t already late for a meeting with Shun. He puts this scenario away in his mind and decides to ask one of them about it later.

“So what are we going to do today?” he enquires when they meet outside school after classes. That sounds - highly domestic, but he keeps his thoughts to himself. Shun shrugs, pausing a bit to rearrange his bag strap around his shoulder when the movement dislodges it, and blurts, “Want to come to my house to play video games?”

Inwardly, Yuuya cheers, because Shun has never invited him to his house before.

(Inwardly, his mind offers: _Yeah, I bet he wants you to see his house alright_.)

Mentally sending a rude gesture to his traitorous brain, Yuuya smiles and responds, “Sure, why not?”

 

* * *

 

“Yuuya?” Shun calls to him while he’s busy ransacking the other’s fridge. He goes up the stairs and into Shun’s room (his room!) to see the other frowning deeper than usual while looking at his phone. “What’s this?” he asks, and hands Yuuya his phone so that he can look into whatever it is properly.

He scrolls rapidly down the screen, pauses when he catches some of the words, feels his stomach dropping, and with shaking hands and gradually paling face scrolls back up to properly read the two text messages sitting innocently in Shun’s inbox.

They’re from Yuzu.

> So I know you’re pretty slow on the uptake, but you do realise that my best friend is in love with you, right?

> Because we’re all waiting for either of you to make a move, and it’s taking FOREVER

_Oh no_ , he feels his heart drop, staring at Yuzu’s messages still displayed clearly on Shun’s phone. _Oh no, no, no._

“Yuuya,“ Shun starts, possibly to demand some explanation or maybe ask him if they’re playing a practical joke on him, and Yuuya _can’t_. Can’t play it off as a joke because-

He sees Shun’s mouth forming words, but doesn’t hear a single word that he is going to say; he is already running out of Shun’s room, out of the door, out of his house, trying to run away from him.

 

* * *

 

He finally pauses when his feet reach the riverbank located near his house, catching his breath. Contemplates throwing himself into the river and hoping he’d drown so that he won’t be able to set eyes on Shun ever again, and crumples down to the ground with his face hidden in his hands.

Letting out an anguished groan doesn’t help, but it sure does make him feel a bit better.

He’s content to simply sit here all night, watching the sun set and the sky turn black; watching the moon emerge in the night sky, its light reflected in the water when the shrill ring of a bell causes him to glance up.

He recognises that sound.

“Hey,” Shun greets, dragging his bicycle slowly along beside him, looking unconcerned, face set in a scowl as it has always been.

“Wha-” And Yuuya’s standing again, preparing to launch himself away towards the opposite direction from where Shun came from. The other boy, sensing this, stops him with a gaze.

“Are you in love with me?” he asks, head-on, eyes focused on Yuuya, and _holy fucking shit, Shun_ , warn a guy first.

“Well,” he begins, clears his throat a bit. Decides that he’s got nothing to lose at this point. “I would say… yes?” The words come out hesitant from his mouth, and he slaps himself mentally on the head, because that isn’t how he wants to announce it. Searches Shun’s face for any sign that he’s not taking this seriously, finds none (of course not, he always takes everything he says seriously) - and Yuuya is suddenly hit with a warm, bubbly feeling in his chest at the sight of Kurosaki Shun standing right there with his hands still gripping the handles of his bicycle; bringing back memories of the first time they met.

Finally meets Shun’s eyes, bright and clear, and says, out loud, “Yes.”

Shun’s eyes widen, but not in horror or disgust, more like as if he can’t believe his own ears. Blinks once, twice. Tries to compose his face, even though Yuuya can see that his eyes are shining in happiness. “Good,” he finally replies, “because I’ve been waiting for you to catch up with your own feelings for a really long time.”

Yuuya’s brain frizzles. Thrice now, all during the same day. “Wait, are you saying - “

And now Shun is back to his old frowny self. “Yes, Sakaki,” he drawls, as if trying to explain something to a very small child. “ I like you very much too.” But then he smiles, brilliant and dazzling like a star, and his entire face changes, becoming younger, less tense.

Yuuya feels as if Shun has just run him over again with his bike, feels the breath getting knocked out of him, but much, much worse (much, much _better_ ).

“Oh,” Yuuya whispers, feeling as if his heart has grown three times its size. “ _Oh._ ” And then he’s reaching out, dragging himself close towards Shun, and they’re (finally, _finally_ ) kissing, and it’s even better than everything he could’ve imagined, the warm heat of the setting sun falling against their faces and the brush of their lips, together

It feels like eternity, but they eventually separate. breath harsh against each other’s lips. A sudden thought randomly hits Yuuya, and he slaps a hand fiercely against his forehead.

“Yuuya?” Shun is doing that _Are you okay?_ look of his, so he grits out, “Gonna have to thank Yuzu for this.” Sighs in a long-suffering manner, “She’s going to be _so_ smug.”

Apparently satisfied that he hasn’t done anything wrong to make Yuuya regret the kiss, Shun steps back a bit to observe him. He seems extra pleased with himself, and also a bit smug. Yuuya would almost laughs at this, if he wasn’t currently experiencing childish glee himself too.

“How did she get your phone number anyway?” he wonders, still staring into the other boy’s face. Yuzu has exchanged several pleasantries with Shun before, but he’s certain she isn’t a mind reader, and Shun doesn’t give his number freely to acquaintances anyway. Yuuya knows; it took him a month of pleading, whining, and barely-concealed bribes to finally convince Shun to give him his phone number.

Shun hesitates.

“Yuuto, probably,” he shrugs, and - wait, _what?_

“Yuuto,” Yuuya deadpans. “As in, my _‘my-aesthetic-is-black-swishing-longcoats-no-I’m-not-a-goth’_ brother Yuuto?”

There is a long silence, before Shun divulges, “He’s my classmate.”

The silence continues. Yuuya raises his eyebrows.

“And my best friend, kinda.”

“Kinda,” Yuuya repeats, disbelieving. He’s spent so many hours tormenting himself over his attraction to Kurosaki Shun, when in fact his own brother is the boy’s _best friend_. Do Yuuto and the rest of his siblings laugh at him about his romantic life behind his back when he isn’t around? No, Yuuto probably won’t laugh. He’ll make sympathetic noises and frown a lot, concerned about Yuuya, but he won’t laugh at him. Yuugo is more likely to threaten anyone who shows him the tiniest hints of romantic interest; but _Yuuri_ , on the other hand -

Okay, stop right there. No more thinking about rowdy siblings while trying to talk to the boy he’s ( _in love with!_ Yuzu chirps at him in his mind) got a crush on. His _boyfriend_ now, technically. His brain does a whole musical ensemble at the term ‘boyfriend’, and _oh wow_ , he’s going to have to tell everyone in their social circle about this, isn’t he?

“So, want to go get some coffee later?” Yuuya asks cheekily, returning to the conversation at hand, which turns into full-blown laughter when Shun groans at him. “Maybe a date…?” He leaves that sentence hanging, aware that a blush is slowly creeping up on his face, pleased to see that Shun is reddening too.

“Can we have something other than coffee?” Shun most certainly does not whine. “I’ve been drinking canned coffee every single day since we started interacting with each other. Getting sick of them.”

“I thought you loved coffee. You’re the one who keeps buying it for me.”

A scoff. “I only bought that in the first place because it was the first thing I saw in the vending machine. Then you started chugging them like they’re energy drinks and you’re burning late night oil for finals, and I thought you loved it.”

“So you _did_ buy those for me!”

Shun adopts one of his blank faces that translates to _I’ve been doing nice things for you but no way am I going to admit it_ and walks away, bicycle still in tow.

“Hey, wait up!” Yuuya calls, running after him. Aims for the rear seat of the bicycle and launches himself, landing perfectly on the seat while Shun curses and tries to balance the bicycle’s added weight and not let both Yuuya and his precious bike drop to the ground.

He glowers at him. Yuuya ignores this and winks lasciviously.

Shun huffs, gets on his bicycle, and starts pedalling them both back towards his house.

All in all, it’s a very romantic bike ride, in Yuuya’s opinion.

**Author's Note:**

> Info about the Japanese Sparrowhawk obtained from [here](http://www.planetofbirds.com/accipitriformes-accipitridae-japanese-sparrowhawk-accipiter-gularis).


End file.
